| | | | Roy Moore almost certainly isn't going to be a senator | | If you thought Roy Moore's political future couldn't get any more bleak after four women went on the record with The Washington Post alleging that the Alabama Republican Senate nominee sought relationships with them when they were between 14 and 18, today showed things could get worse for Moore. Much, much worse.
In an appearance Monday afternoon with celebrity attorney Gloria Allred by her side, a woman named Beverly Young Nelson accused Moore of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.
"Mr. Moore attacked me when I was a child," Nelson said. She also produced her 1977 high school yearbook that included this inscription: "To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say 'Merry Christmas' Christmas 1977 Roy Moore, D.A. 12-22-77 Olde Hickory" Through a spokesman, Moore dismissed the allegation. But it's hard to dismiss the damage done here.
What Nelson is alleging is sexual assault, not sexual misconduct. One of the four women in the Post story was 14 at the time she encountered Moore, which is below the official age of consent -- 16 -- in Alabama. The others were between 16 and 18 and said the encounters were consensual. Moore was in his early 30s at the time.
Moore's defense to this point has been that the women quoted in the Post story were somehow cajoled into lying about their encounters with him -- fake news and all that. To believe Moore's denials at this point, you must also believe that:
1. All five of these women, who say they have never met one another, are not only all lying but doing so in a coordinated manner with remarkably similar stories of Moore's pursuit of them.
2. The dozens of corroborating witnesses that the Post spoke to are also part of a broad -- and very well-organized -- conspiracy to keep Moore from the Senate.
3. Nelson forged -- or had someone forge -- an inscription on her 1977 high school yearbook from Moore, OR Moore signing a teenage girl's high school yearbook -- and noting she was "beautiful" -- was entirely innocuous.
Are there people in Alabama -- and nationally -- that believe all of those things? Sure. But it appears that Republican Senate leaders are not among them. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in Kentucky Monday morning that the time had come for Moore to "step aside." Sen. Cory Gardner, who heads the party's campaign committee, released a statement calling on Moore to be expelled from the Senate if he manages to win the special election on December 12.
What senator -- Democrat or Republican -- could or would vote against expelling Moore at this point?
Read my full take here and follow the latest on the scandal here.
--Chris | | CNN's Eric Levenson put together a story on why Moore supporters are standing by him. The reactions are fascinating. For example: - Mike Allison, a pastor of Madison Baptist Church, told CNN he knows Moore as "a man of integrity."
- Rev. Jamie Holcomb, of Young's Chapel Congregational Methodist Church in Piedmont, said he stands by Moore "100% unless there's proof."
- Dottie Finch, a Moore supporter, said "if it has happened, I believe the good Lord has forgiven him and he has the right to continue to prove himself."
- Brandon Moseley, a political reporter in Alabama, told CNN's Brooke Baldwin he doesn't think the allegations are serious. "If Roy Moore committed a sin, that's a sin and that's not good. But we're not talking about an actual crime here that's prosecutable in 2017. I don't think you throw out 35 years of a man's career and his reputation because of unsubstantiated allegations from 1979 ... but again, if Roy Moore had stolen a lawnmower when he was 21, that's bad, but that's not a reason years later to all of a sudden throw him off the ballot or let Mitch McConnell pick the next Senator of Alabama."
| | | Amazon announced it is developing a "Lord of the Rings" TV series, so here's a throwback from one of the movie soundtracks: Annie Lennox's "Into the West." | | MENENDEZ TRIAL: REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK | | Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption case is now entering its eleventh week and things just got pretty dramatic. CNN's Laura Jarrett writes:
We were warned this was coming. Last week, a juror excused from Sen. Menendez's bribery trial (heading to warmer weather) predicted the trial would end in a hung jury. Today, jurors came back and told the judge they were deadlocked. He suggested they break early this afternoon to go think about something else, but if the judge eventually declares a mistrial, it will be a serious blow to the Justice Department. It could, however, provide Democrats with a little breathing room until GOP Gov. Chris Christie heads out in January.
Read Laura and Sarah Jorgensen's full story here. | | President Trump on Monday announced he is nominating Alex Azar to succeed Tom Price as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. CNN's Maegan Vazquez put together some fast facts about Azar for the Point: - Azar was the president of Lilly USA from 2012 to 2017, overseeing the American branch of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co.
- This won't be his first stint at HHS. During the George W. Bush administration, Azar was the department's deputy secretary and general counsel.
- Azar's confirmation hearing is one to watch: Chuck Schumer said it will be "a referendum on the Trump administration's repeated efforts to sabotage our health care system and raise premiums on millions of Americans."
- A recent suit against Eli Lilly & Co. alleges that the company committed "pricing fraud" for medications like insulin while Azar was overseeing operations.
- Azar has Washington roots. After Yale Law, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and later worked on the Whitewater investigation. He calls Ken Starr a "mentor."
Read more in Maegan's story here. | | CNN's Ashley Killough writes:
Sen. Rand Paul announced his return to the Senate on Monday after being seriously injured at his home in an alleged attack by his neighbor earlier this month.
"Kelley and I want to thank everyone once again for your thoughts and prayers for my recovery," he tweeted Monday morning. "While I'm still in a good deal of pain, I will be returning to work in the Senate today, ready to fight for liberty and help move forward with tax cuts in the coming days and weeks."
Read more in CNN's full story here. | | | Photo courtesy: Saturday Night Live/YouTube/Screengrab | | | "Saturday Night Live" poked fun at the Democratic Party over the weekend ... and it is was pretty funny. The sketch features Democratic leaders talking about their "fresh new ideas delivered by fresh new faces." This includes: Nancy Pelosi (played by Kate McKinnon), Dianne Feinstein (played by Cecily Strong), Chuck Schumer (played by Alex Moffat), Tim Kaine (played by Mikey Day), "hot young thing" Sen. Elizabeth Warren (played by McKinnon, also), former VP Joe Biden (a cameo by Jason Sudeikis) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (played by Larry David, obviously). | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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